Nothing to hide. I wished I could say the same for myself.
CHAPTER20
MATTHEW
“Ihave strong feelings for a woman I’ve only known a few weeks.” I dug my shovel into the earth again. “It can’t be real, right? I mean, it can’t last, can it?”
Here I was, out in a field, obsessing about Lauren so badly that I was desperate enough to ask Walt for relationship advice. This was certainly a place I never thought I’d find myself. The alternative was talking to Sam or Bowie, and that wasn’t going to happen. The serial monogamist and the lone wolf had nothing helpful to say, so Walt was my confidant, God help me.
“I think it can still be real.” His eyes were on the dirt as he watched me dig out a rotted fence post.
“You do?” That was exactly what I wanted to hear. Maybe he was better at this advice thing than I’d given him credit for.
“My cousin Dean fell in love with his wife on a three-day trip to Reno. Sometimes love strikes hard and fast.”
“Is that so?”
He nodded. “Yep, and they still can’t keep their hands off each other.”
I leaned on the handle of my shovel. “Walt, didn’t you tell me Dean met his wife in high school?”
“That was his first wife, Edie. This is the second one I’m talking about, Geena.”
“What happened to his marriage with Edie?”
Walt grimaced and rubbed his chin. “He went to Reno and met Geena.”
My eyes widened in realization. “So you’re comparing my relationship to your philandering cousin’s?”
Walt adjusted his hat. “Well, I guess it hits different when you put it that way.”
“Probably not the best example.” I needed to find a better mentor for my love life.
After we’d finished replacing the post, Walt and I drove back to the office to find Sam and his dog Jake waiting for us.
“What are you two doing here?” I asked.
“Walt is babysitting Jake while I work tonight,” Sam said. “I’ve got to make a visit out in Bitter Creek, and I might not be back until morning.”
Jake pranced around my desk to paw at my work boots. I gave him a good scratch under his tiny chin, and he wagged his tail to approve of my efforts.
“So are you cooking his chicken dinner and putting him in his silk pajamas, Walt?” I asked.
Walt chuckled, and Sam took my teasing with his usual good nature. He knew it was silly to boil fresh chicken for a dog, but Jake flat-out went on a hunger strike if he smelled any type of dog food—kibble or wet—in his bowl. Years ago, Sam saved Jake from being euthanized at the shelter after his original adoptive family returned him for his bad habit of nipping people’s hands and feet. To his credit, Sam trained Jake well over the years and vice versa. Jake didn’t nip anymore, and Sam made fancy dog food and let him sleep on the other side of his bed. Not in silk pajamas—that part was fiction.
“He doesn’t have to cook it,” Sam said. “I brought Jake’s food with me.” He produced a plastic box and handed it to Walt. Then he turned his back to me as he quietly added, “If you can heat it up a little, that would be great. He doesn’t like cold food.”
I let that one go. It was nice to see Sam so invested in a loving relationship, even if it was with a spoiled little dog.
After Sam left, Walt picked up Jake and cradled him like a baby. “If your daddy doted on his girlfriends the way he dotes on you, he might be married by now.”
“Maybe he knows that, so he gives all his attention to the dog.” I looked at my laptop, knowing I should open it to do some accounting. My heart wasn’t in it, though. I was barely going to make payroll for the rest of the summer, and every time I ran the numbers, it was more and more depressing.
Walt set Jake on the floor and rocked back on the heels of his boots. I figured he was about to head back to the stables, but he didn’t go. Instead, he took his time getting a drink from the water cooler in the corner. I’d known him long enough to understand something was on his mind.
“Did you want to talk to me?” I asked.
He drained the paper cup, then tossed it in the trash. “I got a call from my nephew in Colorado. The place he’s working near Fort Collins needs another wrangler.”
